Tamale Pie

Tamale Pie

Tamale pie is an easy, quick, tasty, and economical dish to prepare.  In my house, it is known as the Southwestern version of Shepard's Pie. It is one of my favorite "turn to" recipes. I make it when I need something quick and easy for family meals, potlucks, and friends/family get togethers.    To begin, you brown some ground beef, drain it, and then season it with salt, chili powder, cumin and onion powder.   Add some  tomatoes, green chilies, corn, olives and Mexican Cheese.  Mix together well and let the mixture cook for a couple of minutes.  Spoon the mixture into a prepare baking dish.  Prepare the cornbread mix according to package directions and spread it over the meat mixture.  Place in a 375 degree (F) oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is browned.  The aroma when it comes out of the oven has a hint of spiciness mixed with the smell of fresh baked cornbread.  I let my casserole rest for 10 minutes before I serve it.   The casserole is slightly spicy and ever sooo good.
This recipes makes 6-8 servings.





Tamale Pie

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2-teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder (more or less to taste)
1-teaspoon cumin (more or less to taste)
1-teaspoon onion powder
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
1 (4-ounce) can green chilies, diced
1 (16 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (4 ounce) can sliced ripe olives
1 cup grated Mexican Cheese (about 4 ounces)
Nonstick cooking spray
1-pound of prepared cornbread mix (such as Jiffy or Bob's Red Mill)

Directions:
1 Preheat oven to 375°F.
2 Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add the ground beef, and brown.  Drain the beef and wipe excess oil from the skillet.  Return ground beef to the skillet and add salt, chili powder, cumin, and onion powder.  Stir until combined well.

3 Mix in fire-roasted tomatoes, chilies, corn, olives, and cheese. Cook for and additional 3 minutes.  Add more chili powder and cumin if desired. Spray the insides of a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon filling into the casserole dish.

Ground Beef Mixture

Beef Mixture in Bottom of Prepare Baking Dish

4 In a large bowl, prepare the cornbread batter according to the directions on the package. Pour the cornbread batter over the top of the filling in the baking dish.

5 Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is browned. Let the pie sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8.

Chicken Breast Diable

Chicken Breast Diable

Our assignment this week in French Fridays With  Dorie was Chicken Breasts with a flavorful cream sauce.   This was another very easy recipe to make.  Three cheers for easy recipes!  To begin, the chicken breast are light pounded and then cooked in a skillet with melted butter and Olive oil. Cook the chicken until it is browned. Once the chicken has cooked you place it in a rimmed baking dish.  Tent with foil and place in a 200 degree oven to keep warm.  Now you are ready to make your cream sauce. In the skillet you cooked the chicken, you add a finely chopped shallot and a mined garlic clove. Your pour in some white wine to deglaze the pan - you want to scrape off all those flavorful bits off the bottom of the pan.  Next pour in some heavy cream.  Add some Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce.  Taste and add more seasoning if necessary.  Remove chicken breasts from the oven and add any pan juices to the sauce.  Stir and serve the chicken with the sauce.

The result is a delicious chicken dish perfect for family or company.
This recipe can be found on page 217 in "Around My French Table" or here.

Julia's Best Banana Bread

Julia's Best Banana Bread

Banana bread is a favorite at my house.  Eating it plain, with butter or to make PB&J's  - it is always good.  I have a recipe I make but when I saw this one for Julia's banana bread I had to try it.  As you can see from the recipe, it is very easy to make. There are no spices just the flavor of the bananas.  You start by whisking together flour, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl you whisk together eggs, sugar, bananas, and vegetable oil. Pout the batter in a pan and bake for 60-70 minutes.  I had to put foil over my bread because it browned so quickly.  This is due to the browning effect of baking soda.  You can read more about the effect here.
The  bread had a nice sweet banana flavor and was very moist.  It  also had a nice crust to it.

Julia's Best Banana Bread
From Bon Appetit


Ingredients:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Coat a  9x5x3- inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Whisk eggs, sugar, bananas, and oil in a large bowl until smooth.  Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined.  Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

4. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of bread comes out clean, 60-70 minutes.

5. Transfer to a wire rack; let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around inside of pan to release the bread.  Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

Makes 1 loaf

Do Ahead:  Banana bread can be made 3 days ahead.  Store airtight at room temperature.

Hash Browns

Hash Browns

The latest issue of Food and Wine magazine did a section on cooking legends.  Of course, one of those legends was Julia Child.  One of Julia's favorite sides according to the article was hash browns.  She served the dish with roast chicken or Cornish hen.  I served mine with Balsamic Pot Roast.  Hash browns are a relatively easy and flavorful dish to prepare.  Julia's are seasoned with salt and pepper and   are cooked in vegetable oil and butter.  First, the potatoes are peeled and cut into cubes.  Then  the potatoes are boiled in salt water until they are almost tender.  They are then drained and fried in a skillet with butter and vegetable oil.  They are cooked until they crusty on the bottom. The potatoes are then turned and cooked again until crusty.  Your dish is now ready to serve.
While this was a simple dish to prepare, the hash browns were very tasty.  I loved the crustiness on the bottom of the potatoes.  They were not mushy like some hash browns can be.  They went well with our pot roast.

Hash Browns
From Food and Wine Magazine

Ingredients:

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, add  4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil.  Simmer, partially covered until almost tender.  Drain and pat dry.
2. Heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet.  Add the vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter.  When the foam subsides, add the potatoes and cook over moderately high heat, tossing until lightly golden.  Season with salt and pepper and roughly mash the potatoes with a spatula.  Dot the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter over the potatoes, cover and cook until crusty on the bottom, about 3 minutes.  Slide the potatoes onto a plate and invert them back into the pan.  Cook until the underside is nice and  crusty.  Slide the potatoes onto a platter and serve.

Cheating ~On~ Winter Pea Soup

Cheating~On~Winter Pea Soup

This week our assignment in French Fridays With Dorie was pea soup.  At first, I wasn't too sure about this recipe - peas were cooked with romaine lettuce. This wasn't in my book a good combination.  The kids were not too sure about it either.  However, I persevered and made the recipe for our dinner.   I am so glad I did:) So were the kids.    This soup was delicious.  The romaine lettuce added a wonderful flavor to the soup.

Peas, Onions, and Lettuce

This is a very easy and quick soup to make.  You start by cooking an onion that has been diced in butter for about 3 minutes.  You then season  with salt and pepper and add broth - I used chicken broth.  Bring the broth to a boil and then stir in the frozen peas and lettuce.  Lower the heat and let the soup bubble away for 10 minutes.  Puree the soup in batches.  I let the soup cool down before I put it in the blender.  Taste -  adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve with a dollop of sour cream.  I swirled some heavy cream into my soup.  A perfect soup for an evening meal  to take off the winter chill.
This recipe can be found on page 59 in Around My French Table.  

Ready to be Pureed

Dinner is Served

Balsamic Pot Roast

Balsamic Pot Roast

Balsamic Pot Roast is easy to prepare, very tasty and requires little clean up.  Everything is cooked in a slow cooker. Perfect for days when you are on the run or just need an easy meal.   The hardest part of this dish is chopping the carrots, onions, garlic, and celery.  This fragrant and flavorful mixture of veggies is place over your roast that has been seasoned with salt, thyme, and black pepper.  Pour  beef stock and balsamic vinegar over the roast.  Cover and cook on low for 10 hours. That is it.  Dinner is cooking.  The recipe suggested to serve the pot roast with prepared polenta and sauteed sweet peppers.  I served mine with Julia's Hash browns - recipe to come In February 2013:)
I loved the flavor the veggies and the balsamic vinegar gave the roast.  The meat was very moist and tender.  An added bonus, very little clean up:)


Balsamic Pot Roast
From Family Circle Magazine


Ingredients:
1 beef chuck or bottom round roast, about 3 1/4 pounds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups unsalted beef stock
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
Prepared polenta and sauteed sweet peppers (optional)

Directions:

1. Spray slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray.  Season roast with salt, thyme, and black pepper.  Place in bottom of slow cooker.

2. Scatter onion, carrots, celery and garlic over roast.  Pour stock and balsamic vinegar over top.  Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours.

Veggies Over Roast

Veggies, Beef Stock, and Balsamic Vinegar

3. Remove roast and allow to rest 15 minutes before slicing.  Skim fat from cooking liquid.  Mash vegetables in cooking liquid to slightly thicken sauce.
4. Serve sliced roast with sauce and, if desire, polenta and sauteed peppers.

Makes 6 servings

Coeur a la Creme

Coeur a la Creme

I am a little late with my post for French Fridays With Dorie.   My coeur a la creme mold was late in arriving. This was one recipe I have wanted to make for a long time but was a little hesitant to make.  It looked so lovely and complicated.  Far beyond my cooking skills I thought.  I was in for a surprise.  This dessert is not hard at all to make. In fact, it is very easy:) You just whip until smooth cream cheese with some confectioner's sugar and a pinch of salt.  To the mixture you add some vanilla extract and some framboise, creme de cassis, kirsch, or dark rum if you wish.  Fold in some heavy cream that has been whipped and pour the mixture into your mold that has been lined with cheesecloth.  Cover the mold with the cheese cloth and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight.  I chilled mine for about 24 hours.  When you are ready to serve, you unmold and serve with the toppings of your choice. I served mine with fresh raspberries and some honey.
Not only was the dessert the center of conversation, it was delicious.  Rich and creamy with a nice light texture.  
This recipe is a keeper.  You can find this recipe on pages 425-426 in "Around My French Table."

Folding in Whipped Heavy Cream

 Lined With Cheesecloth

All the Whipped Cream Has Been Folded In

Ready to Chill